Desperation

Patt

“Ellison!” Banks called out from his office. Jim dreaded that sound. It usually meant that he’d have to do something he didn’t want to. He got up, walked into Simon’s office and said, “Sir?”

“Sit down, Ellison, I need to talk to you.”

“Sir, if you’re calling me Ellison, I think I better stand.” Jim said cautiously.

“I need you to go undercover for about a month. I know that’s not your job now but Vice needs you. It will only be a month at the most.”

“Simon, you know damn well you don’t have a clue as to how long it will be. Why me? Ask someone else; I was planning on going on a cruise or did you forget?”

“Your partner can still go on the cruise with his mom, Ellison. This is important.” Simon almost pleaded.

“What is it? And why me?” Jim asked, almost depressed. He'd wanted to go on that cruise in a big way.

“You remember those girls that were being killed about six months ago? Remember you couldn’t find any clues? We never had one bit of evidence that would help in any way. Well, we have a good lead but we need you to go under.”

“Jesus, Simon. Again, why me? I might be recognized.” Jim said, trying to find a way out.

“Because you’re one of the best, Jim. We need someone that can listen without any equipment. They’ll be checking for any type of listening device. They’d never think about you being able to use your eyes and ears.” Simon said.

“Simon, all the more reason to not let me go in. I was front page news for awhile about being able to listen to anything and everything. Do you think they were on an island somewhere?” Jim asked sarcastically.

“Well, actually, Jim, they were. They’re from a small little island in the West Indies. These men are bad news. They can’t stay in their own country because of the drug laws. So they come here, pollute our country and kill the women they aren’t happy with.” Simon said very quietly. He was hoping that this might draw Jim into the web. It had to. They had no other ideas. Jim was their only hope.

“Let me see if I understand this correctly, sir. You want me to give up my vacation, a cruise mind you, and go undercover without my partner?”

“Yeah, that about covers it, Jim. The ball's in your court now. Think on it for awhile and let us know today.” Simon said, giving Jim an out.

“I'll think about it. I’ll let you know in a couple of hours. Blair’s going to be very pissed off, sir.” Jim said as he headed back into the bullpen.

“Rather a pissed off Blair Sandburg then more dead women that we can’t get a fix on.” Simon said, shutting the door on Jim’s retreating figure.

Blair came bouncing into the bullpen. Henry and Rafe had asked him out to lunch. Blair had won a bet and decided to take them to the cleaners this time. He made them take him to a genuinely nice place for a change. He must have liked it. Whatever he ate smelled exceedingly good.

“Jim, my man. I didn’t forget you. I brought you back something and made Henry pay.” Blair said, laughing, as he handed over a container with something wonderful smelling in it.

Jim sat down and opened it up and said, “Thanks, Chief. This looks great. Smells great, too.” Jim took a bite and was in heaven. It was some dish from that new Greek Restaurant. It was wonderful. He started taking his time trying to figure it out and he thought, no, couldn’t be. It would never taste that good.

Blair was watching Jim as he ate and knew that Jim was trying to figure out what it was he was eating. “Hey, tough stuff, what do you think it is?”

“If I didn’t know better I would say its some kind of stuffed leaf.” Jim said, looking at it oddly.

“Wow, you’re good. It's a stuffed grape leaf. It’s good, isn’t it?” Blair asked, happy that Jim had used his senses to figure that out. “Jim, do you believe that we’ll be out of here in two days for two whole weeks?”

“Chief, I need to talk to you.” Jim said, trying not to give it away already.

“Shit! You can’t go, can you? I knew it. I knew something would come up. Well, I’m not fucking staying here.” Blair said as he walked into the break room.

Jim followed him and saw Simon watching out his window. Simon could tell that Jim had made his mind up and had to tell Sandburg.

Once in the break room Jim shut the door and said, “Chief, I wouldn’t miss this for something small. You know that, right? I wanted to go on this more than you’ll ever know.”

“Jim, if you really wanted to go, you’d go. It’s pretty simple to me.”

“They need someone that wouldn’t have to wear a wire. We have a lead on those murders from last month. I couldn’t sleep if any more women died because I felt I needed a break.”

“Do what you fucking want to. I’m going on my trip.” Blair said and stormed out of the break room.

“Chief, come on. Come back and talk about this.” Jim said as he followed him back into the bullpen.

“No, thank you. I’m done talking. In fact, I might ask Simon for two days extra so I won’t have to be around here to get more pissed off every time I look at you.”

“Chief, it’s important. I wanted to go. You know that. I paid for everything already. I’m going to lose all that.”

“Hey, don’t think I don’t know about you having second thoughts about going on a trip with Naomi along. The guys told me, Jim. This is just an easy way out.” Blair grumbled as he headed to Simon’s office.

Jim watched as Blair sat down in Simon’s office. Evidently, Simon was having more luck talking to Blair than he did. Blair was now up and pacing, looking at Jim. Jim saw the look; it was the one that he always gave him when he forgave him.

Blair walked by Jim’s desk and sat down at his and said, “I’m sorry, man. I just really wanted you to go along.”

“I know, Chief. That’s not true about the trip and your mom. I like Naomi a lot.” Jim said.

“I know. I was just angry and the guys were teasing me.” Blair said starting on some paperwork.

The rest of the day flew by. When they were done, they gave all of their finished paperwork to Simon and walked down to the truck. They sat in the truck for a moment and Jim said, “I have to leave in the morning. I wanted to tell you now.”

“I’ll be here when you get off of the detail. I’m not going anywhere without my partner.”

“No, Blair, you’re not doing that. I want you to go. I’m going to be gone for a month. I don’t want you sitting around wondering how I am.” Jim said as he brushed a lock of hair behind Blair’s ear. Blair looked at him oddly when he did this. Jim didn’t even notice that he’d done it.

“Jim, let's go home and we’ll talk some more there. I need to ask a few things before you leave.”

Jim looked over at Blair and saw Blair smile so he knew that he wasn’t in trouble. This time, anyhow.

When they got into the loft, the light was blinking on the phone. “Hey, Jim, it’s Simon. We made contact and we need you right now. As soon as you can get some things packed, we’re ready for you. Call me and let me know.”

Jim just dropped his head in defeat. He had thought about talking to Blair about the feelings he was having towards him. Looked like that was going to be called off. Fuck…

Blair moved up to Jim, turned him around, put his arms around Jim’s waist and hugged him hard. “I’ll be okay, Blair. I want you to have a good time and I’ll see you when I get done with this damn thing.”

“Jim, I have to tell you something.” Blair said quietly and pulled Jim down. Jim, being the goofball of the year, went down thinking Blair had to say something in his ear and was shocked to hell and back when he got a kiss from one Blair Sandburg.

“Chief?” was all that came out of Jim Ellison’s mouth before Blair kissed him again.

Jim decided to go with this and pulled Blair in as close as he could and kissed him with such longing and desire that Blair'd never forget him. Jesus, Ellison, you’re such a romantic. Thinking about dying right now is so killing the mood.

He went back to the kissing. This was good... this was very good. Blair felt the same way about him as he did about Blair. Hot damn!

They were both getting into this kissing thing when the phone rang again. Jim pulled away and said, “Chief, I have to go. I have to answer it.”

Blair picked up the phone and said, “What?”

“Nice way to answer the phone, Sandburg.” Simon said. “Could I talk to Jim, please?”

Handing the phone to Jim, Blair walked off into the bathroom and slammed the door. “Simon, what do you need?”

“We need you as soon as possible. Could you be here in the next hour?” Simon asked.

“How about two, sir?” Jim asked sounding sad.

“Jim, is everything alright? Anything wrong with you and Sandburg?”

“No, sir, nothing's wrong. I just need a little time. Do you mind?” Jim asked.

Simon could tell this was important and he said, “Okay, we’ll see you at the meeting place in two hours. Goodbye.”

Jim could hear Blair trying to get his breathing under control. Jim knocked on the door and said, “Chief, could you come out. I just bought us two hours. I’d kind of like to spend them with you up in our bed.”

Blair flung the door open and grabbed Jim’s hand. Both men were going up the stairs as quickly as they could.

Blair started tearing off his clothes and Jim did the same. Once they were naked, they climbed on the bed and into each other’s arms.

Jim knew that neither man would last long, and that was all right because he didn’t have long. Jim laid on top of Blair, kissed him and started to rub their erections together. Blair started pushing Jim’s ass so that they had more friction. Jim put his hand down in between them and started stroking both cocks at the same time. Jim had never stroked anyone’s cock besides his own. It felt damn nice. The noises that Blair was making were enough to take him to the edge. “Chief, you feel great. You feel wonderful. I’ve wanted this for a long time.”

Blair started kissing Jim again and they were fighting for some type of control and Blair was losing. He was right there. Jim stroked both cocks as hard as he could and Blair screamed out Jim’s name and came all over Jim’s belly and thighs. Jim came right after him. The scent alone could have done it. Blair smelled great.

He moved down and started licking the mess off Blair and Blair got hard again. “Jim, don’t do that. We don’t have the time. You have to pack.”

Jim saw the tears in his eyes and he said, “Chief, I want you now. I want you bad. Could I do that?”

Blair jumped off the bed and ran downstairs. Jim heard him looking for something and heard him find it. He came rushing back up the stairs with lube and a condom. Jim smiled at him and said, “Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah, Jim, I am. I’ve wanted you for a long time, too. Now fuck me good, hard and long.” Blair said as he got onto his knees. Jim looked at the sight in front of him and couldn’t believe it. Blair’s ass was in the air, his head was down on the bed and he was saying, “Come on, Jim. Come on, hot stuff. Fuck me.”

Jim could hardly stay still. He got the lube and started getting Blair ready. Thankfully, he’d done this with a woman once and found out you had to stretch them. Once he was done stretching Blair, he said, “Are you sure, Chief?”

“Yeah, give it to me, Jim.” Blair said, practically begging.

“Jim pushed in about halfway before he heard the hissing sound from Blair’s lips. He knew there would be pain but he didn’t want to hurt Blair. Not now, not ever. “We’ll go slow, Chief.”

“No, fuck me hard, Jim. I want to feel this while I’m on that fucking trip.” Jim pushed the rest of the way in and started thrusting into him repeatedly and Blair was moaning and groaning in time with the thrusts.

“Harder, Jim. Fuck me hard, baby.” Blair asked. What could Jim do? He had to do what his lover wanted, right? He pounded into Blair and before long, Blair yelled out, “Jim,” and Jim only slid in two more times before he came screaming, “Blair.”

Jim held Blair for a short time before he knew he had to get up. “Chief, I have to get a shower and get packed. Can I ask you something important?”

“Yes, it’s just you and me. Don’t worry. I’m not going to be with anyone else, ever again. I love you, Jim.”

“How in the hell did you know what I was going to ask?” Jim asked as he leaned down and kissed Blair again. “I love you, Blair. I love you so much. I’m going to miss you so fucking much.”

“Me, too. Now go and shower and I’ll get your packing started. How does that sound?” Blair asked. Jim could tell he was trying to get rid of him so he left to give Blair that time to get his feelings under control. Jim walked down to the shower and found tears rolling down his cheeks. Ellison, you have it bad.

When he got out of the shower, Blair had his suitcase downstairs open for inspection. Blair had done a great job. Jim pulled Blair to his naked chest, kissed him and said, “Hey, we’ll be together as soon as we both get back. If I get done early I’ll try to meet up with the cruise, okay?”

“That would be great, Jim. Thanks. I love you.” Blair said as he walked into the bathroom. Jim could hear Blair crying softly. He knew better than to go in there because then they’d both be doing it. Jim walked upstairs, got dressed, took one last look at the bed that was now their bed and walked down to start his new fucking life. God, I hate being undercover.

Jim put everything in front of the door and knocked on the bathroom door. “Chief, I have to go. Come on out. Say goodbye to me. Please?”

The door opened and Jim saw a very sad and mournful looking Blair. He pulled him into his arms and said, “I’m going to miss you so fucking much, Blair. I love you.”

“I love you too, Jim. Hurry back. Please stay safe.” Blair said as he pulled away from Jim.

Jim walked to the door and grabbed his things and went out the door. He left his key there since he didn’t want to have anything to tie him to his old life when he was undercover. He got into the truck, started it up, wiped the tears from his cheeks disgustedly, and took off down the road. His cell phone rang and he answered, “Ellison.”

“Jim, it’s Simon. We’ve moved the meeting place. Now come to the second place we talked about. I’ll see you soon.”

Simon hung up before Jim could even answer. Not that he wanted to because he wasn’t in the mood for talking.

When he finally arrived at the cheap motel, he left his truck, keys and cell phone lying on the seat as told. He walked into the cheap tacky motel and asked for his room. When they gave him the key they were giving him the eye. They had no idea that he wanted the room because of the fire escape. That way Simon could come and talk to him tonight.

He walked into the room and Simon was standing there waiting. “You all right, Jim?”

Jim stood in the middle of the room with his head hanging down and didn’t know what to say. He just nodded. Simon walked over to him and said, “Jim, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“Nothing, Simon. I’m fine.” Jim said, trying to get control of himself.

“Jim, cut the shit. What’s up? I need to know if one of my men isn’t in top form.” Simon said.

“I’ll be fine. I just need some sleep. Could I just be alone?” Jim asked.

“Oh shit, you and Sandburg. You’re together aren’t you?” Simon asked.

“It doesn’t make any difference, Simon. I’ll be doing my job just fine. I just didn’t want to leave him tonight. Now can I be alone?”

“Yeah, Jim, you can. Your contact will be here first thing in the morning. There will be someone watching you at all times but once you’re in buildings, you’re on your own. Here are your guns. Be careful. Come back to us safe and in one piece. I’ll watch out for Sandburg for you.”

“Thanks, Simon.” Jim said, quietly, as he lay down on the bed. Simon walked out the fire escape, the same way he’d come in. “Good luck, Jim.”

Everything was going as planned in the next week. Blair got off for his cruise with his mom. Simon had to keep telling him he’d watch out for him. Simon didn’t tell him about Jim telling him. With any luck, the job he was on wouldn’t take a whole month. Then they could be together again. Simon never wanted to see that sad look on Jim’s face again. The phone rang and Simon picked it up and Jim said, “Simon, the deal's going down in an hour at 32nd and Vine. Need lots of backup. They have four women with them.”

“Jim, you all right?” Simon asked wondering why he sounded odd.

“No, sir. They had five women, they killed one. Now there are four. Hurry.” Jim said as he hung up the phone.

Simon made all of the phone calls. Everyone in the bullpen was in on the bust. They got everyone. Jim looked sad but that was to be expected. He’d lost one of the women being held. The remaining four women kept hugging Jim telling him how he was the only reason they wanted to go on. Simon watched as Jim tried to distance himself from those women. He was trying to shut his feelings off. However, those four women must have seen that. They all got together, put their arms around Jim and held on for dear life. They all just stayed that way for about an hour. No one had the heart to interrupt them. Finally, Jim said, “Why don’t we all go home? The women agreed with him and said their goodbyes.

After a very long night of interrogations they finally got everything done; all the paperwork filled out and all questions answered. Jim could finally go home. He couldn’t wait to get there. He’s shower and then with any luck he’d still smell Blair in his bed. It'd only been one week.

“Jim, go on home. Take a few days off if you need to. Everything's done. You need some sleep. You look wasted.” Simon said worriedly.

“Simon, have you heard from Blair?” Jim asked.

“Yeah, he called yesterday to check on you. Told me to tell you hello and he missed you.” Simon said, smiling, as he looked at the blush creeping up Jim’s neck and face. An embarrassed Jim Ellison was something to see. “Now, go home. He said he’d call you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Simon. See you in a couple of days.” Jim said as he walked out of the bullpen.

His truck was waiting downstairs. Climbing in he got the first scent of home. His here and now life. It was wonderful. As he drove to the loft he looked around and saw things that he’d never even noticed before. God, it was great to be alive and in love.

Still smiling, he climbed the stairs to the loft and opened up the door with Simon’s key. Walking in, he smiled even more smelling how great the place smelled. He had spent so much time in that filthy motel and with dirty people that he wasn’t convinced he even knew what smell went where any longer. Now that he was home he knew he was right as rain.

Jim couldn’t wait to get into the shower. He stayed in there until the water ran cold. Then, dressing in some dirt free clothes without the horrific smell, he climbed the stairs to their room and climbed into their bed.

Blair’s scent was still in the bed. Jim took his boxers off and started stroking himself sniffing Blair’s scent. He came in record time. He was so damn horny. The only thing that would have been better would have been Blair calling while he did it. Oh good, Ellison, you’re now a slut.

Jim knew he didn’t have to be up in the morning, so he put the white noise generator on, donned his sleeping mask and went to sleep. He planned to have some good dreams of his new love.

He didn’t hear Simon knocking on the door the next day. He was still tired; he hadn’t slept much at all. Simon used a tool to open the door since Jim used his key to get into the loft. He walked carefully and softly up the stairs until he saw Jim was fine. He was just sleeping. Simon turned off the generator and saw Jim stir.

“Jim?” Simon said.

“Simon, what’s wrong?” Jim sat up, still having that sleeping mask on but still being aware enough to know something was wrong.

Simon sat down on the bed next to Jim and said, “Jim, there's something I have to tell you. Blair was drinking with some men on board the cruise ship when all five men said he jumped. He said he’d done something he couldn’t live with. They say he jumped overboard on purpose.”

“No fucking way, Simon. You know Blair would never do that. You know it.” Jim said, ripping the mask off and throwing his covers off to get out of bed. “And where in the hell was Naomi while this was happening?”

“Jim, Naomi's heartbroken. He wanted some time alone. She said he’d been depressed all week long. Kept saying how much he missed you. Please don’t take it out on her when she returns.”

“So what are they doing about it?” Jim asked.

“Not much to do, Jim. They have witnesses. Naomi even said he was depressed.” Simon said.

“Fine! I quit, Simon. I’ll need a lot of time to go and find him. Something’s going on and I intend on finding out what.” Jim said picking the phone up to call his dad.

When his dad answered, Jim said, “Dad, do you have any way of getting ahold of a yacht or anything like that? “ Jim then explained to William what happened and what Jim planned on doing. He also explained more or less that he and Blair were together. He didn’t want his father to find out the hard way.

“Yes, Jimmy, we’ll start right away. I’ll go with you. Blair means a great deal to me, too. He’s been very kind. I won’t forget him helping us patch things up.” William said.

Tomorrow morning we’ll fly to Acapulco and get the boat there. Is that all right, Dad?” Jim asked.

“That’s fine, Jimmy. We’ll find him. I know he’d never jump overboard. He’s not the type at all.” William said.

When Jim got off the phone Simon was on his cell phone. “Yes, I need three first class tickets for Acapulco. Tomorrow morning will be just fine. Thank you.” Simon said as he hung up.

“I got the tickets. We’re all set. Now let me call the commissioner and let him know he’ll have to replace me.” Simon said.

Jim picked up his cell and said, “I’ll let dad talk to him about it. How does that sound? He can talk anyone into anything.” And call him, Jim did. He called and explained the situation to his dad and William called the commissioner and got all things ironed out so that Jim and Simon could both be gone at the same time.

Jim went upstairs to pack while Simon went home to get his done. The other two men met at Jim’s house that night to give him support. No one really slept much all night long. They just lay in bed thinking. Well, at least Jim did. He could hear that Simon and his dad weren’t sleeping, either.

First thing in the morning, they all got ready and went to the airport. The plane was on time so the loading and takeoff went smoothly. Jim kept hoping and praying that Blair was all right. He couldn’t wait to get there and start checking things out. He was worried but also determined to find his love... his life.

Jim’s head leaned into his dad’s shoulder and William put his arm around Jim and pulled him closer so that he could sleep. Sleep is just what Jim did. He was surprised that he slept at all but being in his dad’s arms had made him feel safe.

When the plane finally landed the three men got their bags and went in search for a cab.

They hadn’t traveled very far when Jim heard Naomi yelling, “Jim, Jim, over this way.” They all looked in that direction and saw that Naomi was waiting for them.

Jim walked up to Naomi and took her into his arms and hugged her until she started crying. “My baby. I just can’t believe this happened, Jim.”

“Naomi, we don’t think it did happen. It’s too weird, you know. Blair wouldn’t have given up on life that easily.” Jim said.

“So we’re going to be looking for my son?” she asked, afraid of the answer.

“You’re damn right we’re going to look for him.” William said and hugged Naomi hard. “We’re not giving up until we know exactly what happened.”

“Where do you want to start, Jim?” Naomi asked.

“Is the ship still docked?” Jim asked.

“Yes, they can’t move until the investigation's over.” Naomi said.

“Well, it’ll be there awhile then because there's no way he took his own life. He had too much to live for.” Jim said.

The four people walked out of the airport with a little bit of hope and a lot of love.

Blair woke to a darkness, not only in the room, but in his soul, mind and body. Something was wrong. What had happened. // Please just let me remember where I am. I need to get a hold of Jim so he doesn’t worry. //

A door opened flooding light into the dark room and Blair was almost blinded by it. As he squinted, he saw someone he had hoped he would never see again. Appartently, hoping didn’t work because Lee Bracket was standing there staring at him. Blair didn’t know what was going on but it couldn’t be good.

“Bracket, what are you doing?”

“I found another temple for sentinels. You’re going to help me.”

“No, I’m not. Let me go now and nothing will happen to you but if you keep this up, Jim will never let you live.”

Bracket laughed hard as he started pacing in the room. Staring at his prey, he smiled and said, “Ellison thinks you’re dead. I paid the men on the boat to say that you jumped overboard. Even your poor dear mother said you had been depressed all week long. So they’re not even investigating it.”

“Why would you do that? Why would you make he and my mother suffer? Why couldn’t you have just taken me and left?”

“Sandburg, life's never that simple, especially when it comes to you and Ellison. Now are you going to fight me on this or go along and behave yourself?”

“Like I have a choice? You’re such a prick, Brackett.”

“Well, I might be a prick but I’m a prick that found a new temple, or should I say a really old temple for sentinels? The Shaman that I spoke with said that with the proper guidence I could become a full fledged sentinel.”

“Surely you’re joking. It’s not like you can take a normal person and make them into a sentinel. You’ll never be a sentinel and I don’t plan on helping you at all. So you can give up on that idea now.”

“You’ll guide me or I’ll call my man at the hotel and have him silence your mother forever.”

“God, I can’t believe you’re doing this. Why?”

“Because I’m going to become a Sentinel and you’re going to be my guide. The Shaman told me that we have to be bonded, too.”

“Do they have bonding agents out here, wherever we are?” Blair said very sarcastically.

“Not that kind of bond and you know it. We have to be together, sexually. One in all things.”

Blair was suddenly petrified when he realized what Brackett meant. // Shit! He’s going to rape me. Then he wants to have me guide him? He’s insane. God, Jim, please hurry. //

In the corner of the room something appeared and took Blair’s mind off of everything for a moment. He saw a very vague apparition of the black jaguar. He had only heard about the beautiful cat from Jim’s stories but now he could see him. What did that mean, he wondered. The cat came closer but didn’t get much clearer. It was almost like Jim was too far away so his spirit guide couldn't help him properly.

“Are you listening to me, Sandburg?” Lee demanded.

“No.”

“You’re going to fight me, aren’t you? Well, suit yourself. You and your mom will be the only ones to suffer. Ellison will have no guide and you'll lose your mother, too. Think about it for a moment.”

“Fine! I’ll think about it but I can’t rush into this. All right?”

“How long have you been sleeping with Ellison anyhow? And how much stronger did it make his abilities?”

“First of all, I’m not sleeping with him. How many times do we have to tell you we’re just roommates. You saw us in our home. We have separate rooms. Jim was a Sentinel when I met him, he didn’t need to become stronger. He just needed to use his abilities correctly.”

“Well, I’m going to have to start from scratch. That’s all right, though. We’ve got nothing but time.”

“Where are you taking me?” Blair asked as Brackett pulled him out of the dark room.

“Don’t worry, we’re just on our way to the temple. You’ll see how fantastic this will be and you’ll thank me in the end.”

Blair looked back and saw the panther following them closely. He seemed just a little bit darker this time. Maybe Jim was getting closer. // God, I hope so. //

When Jim, William, Simon and Naomi pulled up to the dock in the cab, they all got out and walked briskly to the yellow tape all around the ship’s entry.

A policeman stopped them and said, “I’m sorry but you’re not allowed here; this is a crime scene and we’re not done investigating yet.”

Simon and Jim pulled their identification out and showed the man. Simon said, “We’re not here to get in your way, sir. Sandburg was one of ours and we have to find out what happened to him. When he left Cascade he wasn’t depressed so something must have happened to him while he was on the ship. There's no way he would have jumped overboard.”

“This is Mr. Sandburg’s mother, Naomi Sandburg. And this is my father, William Ellison. We’re hoping to have Ms. Sandburg show us where Blair was during this trip.” Jim said, hopefully.

“I hope that she can help you come up with something because we could find nothing. We don’t believe he did, either. So we’re here to help you in any way you need it.”

“Thank you.” Simon expressed.

Jim asked, “Why didn’t you think he'd done it, either? You don’t even know the man.”

He smiled and said, “All of the witnesses just seem too sure about exactly what happened and their stories are exactly alike. How often does that happen in our line of work, Detective?”

“Not often. It’s good to see that someone else sees this, too. Do you still have the witnesses close by?” Simon asked.

“Yes, sir. They're staying at the hotel across from the police station. We needed them to stay close by for answering questions.”

“Thank you for everything you’re doing.” Naomi said as she walked away.

As the men followed, Jim turned at a sound of a growling animal and saw a faded version of a wolf behind him. // Oh god, Blair, where are you? You have to help me, buddy. Give me some ideas on where to start. //

The wolf moved in front of the three humans, leading the way to the room where Blair stayed. Once they were inside the small room, Jim saw the wolf sniff at the end table and in the bathroom. Jim checked the table out and could smell something but wasn’t sure of what it was. Then walking into the bathroom, he realized that he could smell something there, too. He didn’t know what it was. If Blair was there he would help him focus. // Well, duh. If Blair was there, you wouldn’t have to be focusing on anything but him. //

The wolf walked closer to Jim and leaned into him. Jim could feel the heat coming from the spirit’s body. How was that happening? Jim found himself able to focus more with the help of the wolf. Even when Blair wasn’t there, he helped him. It figures and you know he’s never going to let you live that down, Ellison.   Jim found he had hope for the first time since they had arrived. Thank god for that.

Leaving the small bathroom that Jim was still shaking his head over, he turned to Simon and said, “Have you ever seen a bathroom as small as this in your life?”

Simon laughed and said, “I know. It was fine for Sandburg, but damn, we would have gotten stuck in it if we had to stand up.” Both men had huge smiles on their faces and Noami looked on, smiling at the fondness the men had for her son.

“Simon, I want someone to come up here and check out something. I smell some type of drug. I’m not sure what it is but it might have had something to do with causing Blair’s depression or the appearance of one.”

“Jim, I’m so sorry I didn’t call you about this.” Naomi said, almost beginning to cry. “I knew he missed you but it was worse than that. He was very depressed.”

“Okay, Naomi, since you brought it up, why didn’t you question him about it? Why is it that you just let him be? What were you doing?” Jim demanded.

“Jim, you’ll get nowhere yelling at Naomi.” Simon said, trying to break this up before it got ugly.

“All right, Jim, I admit I was busy. I’m not proud of it. And honestly, I wouldn’t have noticed Blair that much anyhow. He pulled away from me from the start and told me to have fun. So I did. I met some very nice men and I was enjoying their company.”

“Well, that’s great, Naomi. You’re just that easy to talk into ignoring your son. Great.” Jim said with an air of disgust.

William said, “Jimmy, that’s enough. This will do nothing with helping find Blair. I say let's focus on that and forget about what happened with Naomi and her men. Call a truce, both of you. We need to find Blair.”

”I’m sorry, Naomi. I’ll try to keep my opinions to myself.” Jim said with head hanging down.

“I’m sorry, too, Jim, for not paying more attention to my son.” Naomi said as she pulled Jim into a hug. But she noticed that Jim didn’t hug her back. She knew that Jim wasn’t going to forget this easily. She prayed that someday he’d forgive her.

Simon left the room and was gone for about twenty minutes. When he returned he was smiling and said, “They’re sending in forensics unit now. He was hoping that something would become evident but they couldn’t find a thing. I told him you have a keen sense of smell and you could smell a drug in the room.”

“Good. What should we do in the meantime?” Jim asked his boss.

“I think maybe it’s time to interrogate the witnesses. What do you think about that?” Simon asked.

“I’m up for it, sir.” Jim answered.

William smiled at his son and said, “Jimmy, I hope I don’t need to tell you that you can’t hurt them. You have to leave this up to Simon. He’s better with words than you are with actions. Promise me that you won’t do something to mess up the questioning.”

“Dad, would I do that? I don’t think so. But okay, I promise.” Jim said, starting to walk out the door leading the others off the ship.

Jim turned around and saw the wolf following and thanked god that he would have a little help on this one. He needed all of the help he could get.

Arriving at the hotel, they each got rooms for the time being. Once settled. They called over to the station house across the street and asked to have the witnesses brought in. The officers told them they would have them there in four hours.

“Why don’t we all go get something to eat and make some notes of what we have so far?” William said.

“Dad, I thought we were the detectives?” Jim asked, laughing.

“Well, it never hurts to have everything written down so you can read it later and maybe see something you hadn’t thought of before. What do you think, Simon?” William asked.

“I think it’s a damn good idea. Let's get some notebooks, pens and go have lunch. Coming, Naomi?” Simon asked.

“Are you sure you want me with you?” she asked meekly.

“Of course we want you with us.” Jim said.   Then he pulled her into a hug that she had needed back at the ship. Whispering he said, “Naomi, I’m mad at you right now but I’ll get over it. Just try and help us. And for gods sake, next time pay more attention to your son.”

“I promise I will, Jim.” Naomi answered as she hugged him back and found such love pouring from this man that she knew now why her son was in love with him.

As they walked to the restaurant, notebooks in hand, Noami whispered to William, “So how do you feel about your son and my son being together? I was surprised and not that happy at first. But Blair seems to be happy, so what could I say?”

“I’m fine with it. I’m not going to say I was surprised because I always saw something there. I just chose not to think about it too often. I’m not against it, I was just hoping that Jimmy would have an easier life than that.” William said in a matching hushed tone.

“I can hear both of you.” Jim teased.

“Damn, it’s hard being around a man that can hear everything.” William said, laughing.

As they ate lunch, they started talking about everything they knew up to this point, which was very little, but hopefully, they'd find something out from the forensic team. As they talked and took notes Jim saw the wolf again. He was getting a little darker. Jim could see him much clearer. What could that mean? That Blair was closer now? Or that he was close to something with the witnesses?

“Do you think we could go to the station house now?” Jim asked.

Simon saw a look on Jim’s face that pleaded with him so the older man said, “Sure, why don’t we all walk over there now?”

They paid their bill and left a great tip so the waiter would remember them. William did know that much. If you tipped them well, they would remember you forever. He knew that every time they came back this waiter would make sure he had a table for them and everything just so.

Once they got to the station, they were led to an interrogation room where four men were sitting. The cop in charge said, “I’m Captain Ortega and I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

“Good to meet you, sir.” Jim said, shaking his hand. “Could we question one person at a time?”

“Certainly. I’ll take the others to our break room. Just let me know when you need the next man. Mr. Walters, you stay.” Captain Ortega ordered.

“Yes, sir.” the young man answered.

Simon took William and Naomi and led them out of the room. Once they were settled on a bench, he went back into the room. No way was he going to let Jim screw this up by hurting a witness. He knew how desperate his detective was.

“So how long has you been hanging around Mr. Sandburg?” Jim asked quietly.

“We met on the second or third day. He was nice and he hung with us from that time on.” Walters said.

“Did you find him depressed?” Simon asked.

“Yes! We were trying to help him cheer up but it wasn’t really working.” Walters said, almost too quickly.

Jim walked out of the room and Simon followed him saying to Walters, “We’ll be right back.”

“Jim, what the hell do you think you’re doing? You haven’t even asked him anything yet.”

“Simon, I wanted to tell you he’s lying. We’re only this far and he’s not told anything but lies. What are we going to do?” Jim pleaded.

William overheard the two men and said, “Excuse me, Jimmy, but could I talk to your Captain alone? Without you listening?”

“Sure.” Jim said walking away; shoulders slumped.

Very quietly William said, “Simon, this is just my opinion but I’ve watched these four men and none of them seem to have money. So I think they probably went along with something for money. What do you think?”

“I would agree. That makes the most sense.”

“Well, what would you think if I went in there, and without you or Jimmy, offered them money? A lot more than they would get from whomever took Blair. Do you think you would let me try?”

“Sir, if you could get some type of information out of them, that would be great.” Simon said. “I’ll go and get the other men quickly.”

“Thank you, Simon. I’ll wait in that room. Just don’t let on to Jimmy. I want him to think he’s in control.”

“Sir, he’s not in control; that’s what’s bothering him. So this will be all right with Jim.” Simon said, walking away.

William walked into the interrogation room and shut the door. Jim watched and wondered what the hell he had missed by not listening. Simon came down the hall with the other three so-called-witnesses. Jim wondered again what was going on. He continued to watch as Simon led them all in the room and shut the door with Simon still being outside of the room.

Jim couldn’t stand it any more. “What’s going on, Simon?”

“Your dad had a very good idea and I figured it wouldn’t hurt. No one would know about it and we could go from there.”

Jim sat down on the bench next to Naomi and Simon sat on the other side of her as they waited. They sat for about an hour when William walked out and said, “Jimmy, Simon, the men are ready to talk to you now. You won’t know anything I discussed with them. You’ll only know what they tell you.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Jim said, rushing into the room.

He and Simon found four very nervous men standing waiting for them.

“Where should we start?

How about at the beginning? Who contacted you and paid you?” Simon asked.

Jim looked over at Simon and wondered if his boss was pushing too hard but the men seemed to relax a little.

“We were contacted before the first day of the cruise. He not only paid for our cruise but he gave us spending money and so on. He even gave us money for medical bills.” the one called Christopher said.

“We didn’t really want to do it but Paul’s mom needed some surgery and this man would pay for it if we did this for him.” Daniel said.

“My mom's all I have.” Paul said sadly.

“We’ll tell you anything you want to know.” Anthony added.

“Okay, we’ll start with this one. Was something given to Sandburg to make him sick?” Jim asked.

“We never gave him anything. We swear. We wouldn’t have hurt him for anything. He was really nice. But we noticed that he was getting more and more depressed each time we were with him. So someone was giving him something. We just didn’t know that the man was on the cruise.” Chris said, head hanging.

“Can you describe this man for us?” Simon asked.

“Yes, we all met him and talked with him, plus, he took Blair that last day.” Paul said.

“Jim, why don’t you go and ask the Captain if they have any sketch artists here?”

“I’ll be right back, Simon.” Jim said, rushing from the room to find out.

When Jim came back in, he had a woman with him. “She’s not a sketch artist but she can draw and said she’d do the best she could to help.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Simon said, smiling.

“You're most welcome, sir.” she said sitting down with her pad and pencil.

For the next two hours, the men gave a description and watched the woman draw the picture and told her when she was getting close to what he looked like. Finally, they were happy with the outcome and she handed it to Jim and Simon.

“Brackett.” Both men said at the same time.

“You know of this man, sir?” the artist asked.

“Yes, ma’am. We do. He’s not a good person. We need to find Mr. Sandburg soon or he’ll hurt him.” Jim said.

“I’m going to show the picture around to the other officers and ask if anyone knows him. He must have planned this and must be around here somewhere I'd guess.” she said.

“Thank you.” Jim said as he fell into a chair. Once she left the room he turned to the men and said, “Why did you decide to talk to us?”

“Because your father said he would pay my mom’s hospital bill and see to it that we all got a reward.” Paul said. “We really wanted to do the right thing, Mr. Ellison.”

'Thank you for finally telling us. This will help a great deal.” Simon said.

Jim looked over in the corner and saw the wolf, who now was even darker than before and he was pacing. Blair, please, hang on. I’ll be there as soon as I can.

Brackett pushed Blair into the jeep that he had rented. Blair tried to get away from him but Brackett was on top of his game. He made sure that he didn’t lose his guide. They drove quite a ways and Blair looked at the beautiful landscape that they passed. It was breathtaking.

“Isn’t it odd?” Blair asked no one in particular.

“Isn’t what odd?”

“This is such a gorgeous country but the people here are so poor. Two classes here. Upper and lower. There's no middle class, at all. The government doesn’t take care of their people. What’s wrong with them?” Blair asked, truly interested.

“There’s nothing wrong with them, Sandburg. If they really wanted to better themselves, they would. It’s like saying if you’re born in a ghetto, you can’t ever get out. You can if you truly want to.” Brackett said with his usual cold tone.

“I, for one, disagree. I think that the government holds them back. They give them nothing to work towards. I’ve watched these people. They’ve got nothing or they have too much. Such a beautiful country and people, it’s just a darn shame.”

“Sandburg, you’re such a bleeding heart.” Brackett said with distaste.

“Fuck you, Brackett.” Blair said as he went back to sight seeing. They were passing the middle part of Acapulco and Blair recognized Old Acapulco. He turned to Brackett and said, “So are you familiar with anything here?”

“What? Down here? It’s ghetto to me. I don’t stay down here unless I have to.”

“Well, you’re missing out on so much. You should stop and we could see Old Acapulco. It’s like an old town in the middle of an island. You go in and the first thing you’ll see is the flower market. It’s so beautiful. Nothing but flowers are put there to sell to us, daily. I spent about seven hours in there the first day. You’d love it. And besides, it would be good to test the Sentinel thing on.”

“What do you mean?” Brackett said, immediately focusing on what Blair had to say.

“Well, when you become a Sentinel, your senses become much better so it would be good to check out the flower market, the leather market and the wood market. They're all here. You could have me document the scents that you pick up and what you think while there. Then, once you visit this so-called Sentinel temple, we can stop back and we’ll see if any of the tests come out differently.”

“I know you’re trying to kill time but it doesn’t matter, Sandburg. Ellison’s not coming. Besides I think that’s a very good idea. We’ll check out the Market. You do make it sound nice.”

“It’s beautiful. More people should come to just visit the old part of Acapulco. The people that were staying on the ship hadn’t even checked this area out. They told me I was insane to be down here with the policemen with their machine guns.” Blair said, getting out of the jeep as Brackett stopped.

“You have to admit, Sandburg, that does throw you off seeing them carrying machine guns.”

“Well, maybe at first, but you get so used to it that it basically makes you feel safe. They even walk on the beach with them. Did you know that? And one night while at a bar watching the Aztec dancers, four of them came into the bar carrying their machine guns and I thought the people I was with were going to have a heart attack.”

Blair was trying to kill time so Jim could find him. He needed to make Brackett feel comfortable and that was something that Blair Sandburg could do well. He knew how to make a person feel like letting down their walls. Hopefully, if Jim didn’t get there in time, he’d be able to talk some sense into Brackett. Oh yeah, like that’s going to happen.

As the two men entered the flower market, Brackett stared with an open mouth. He had no idea that it would be anywhere near this gorgeous. Sandburg hadn't described it as well as it should have been. It was probably one of the most stunning things he had ever seen in his life.

All Blair could think about when he entered the market was how much he loved Jim. He kept his mind on the last time they kissed. It had been beautiful. Full of love, longing and desire. He refused to let Brackett ruin this for him.

They spent about an hour in the flower market alone. Brackett was, indeed, impressed. Then they checked out all of the other shops that Blair had told him about.

“I know why Ellison enjoys being around you now. You’re full of interesting information. Things I wouldn't have thought of, you’re thinking of all the time. You’re going to be a damn good guide. I just want you to know how much I do like having you around.”

“Give me a break, Brackett. You want a guide; I’m the only one you know. You just take what you want. You don’t ask. You never asked me if I wanted to do this. You just take it for granted that I’ll be happy to be your so called guide. Well, I’m not going to be happy. I’m Jim’s Guide and I won’t be anyone else's.” Blair said with such defiance that Brackett was worried for one moment if this would work.

Then he realized he held the trump card. “Sandburg, you can have your choice. If you don’t want to be my guide, that’s that. But if you don’t, you know who I’ll go after. It won’t be you. Your Sentinel won’t be yours any longer.”

“Fuck you, Brackett. I hate you. I’ll be the guide but I won’t be your guide.”

“Works for me. I don’t really care as long as you’re able to make this work.” Brackett said, pulling Blair through the rest of the market.

Blair looked at things and was continually reminded of Jim and said, “I’m going to come some day when you aren’t with me.”

“Well, I can tell you right now, I’ll kill him if he tries to take you away. So don’t get your hopes up about him saving the day.” Brackett muttered, walking faster and pulling Blair along with him.

Blair looked around frantically looking to see if the Panther was still with him. Sure enough, he was there. Getting darker each and every time he saw him. Blair began to relax just a little bit. He knew that he and Jim would prevail.

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Jim looked at the wolf and knew that he had to start following him. It was time. He needed to get to Blair. He walked up to William, Naomi and Simon and said, “I need to talk to you all. Privately.”

They all walked out of the station house and across the street to their hotel and went up to Jim’s room. Once safely inside, they all sat and waited for whatever Jim had to tell them.

“I know you won’t understand but Blair has a spirit animal that helps from time to time. It’s a wolf. I’ve been seeing it since we arrived here. Every time I do see it, it appears to be getting darker and stronger. I think we’re getting close. We need to follow the wolf. I don’t want you to question me. You can think I’m insane but please just allow me to follow that wolf.”

William was the first one to speak. “So what are we waiting for? Jimmy, we all know that you have powers that none of us do. So go with what you feel is right.”

“I agree with your father, Jim.” Naomi said.

Simon stood up and said, “So let's get ready to take off. Do we know where we’re going?”

“I’m just waiting for the wolf.” Jim said sheepishly. And as if it knew Jim was talking about him, he appeared and Jim jumped up and said, “Follow me.”

No one questioned it. They all followed Jim down to the street and into a building. It looked like a travel type agency. As soon as the person was off of the phone, Jim said, “Do you happen to remember seeing this man around here lately?” He showed Brackett's picture to her.

As she studied it, she got up and showed it to the man in the next office and he came walking out. “Can I help you?” the man asked.

“Sir, we’re looking for this man. It’s very important that we find him soon.” Jim said.

“Well, he was in asking us about the temple that a spiritual leader had told him about. We told him what he needed to know and he was gone. We’ve not seen him since.”

“Could you tell us how to get there?” Jim almost pleaded.

“Of course, Senor. Here"s a map. If you’d like to hire him, my cousin can take you there. It will take just one day. We have a jeep. You’ll all need sleeping bags, food and water. Just call and let me know.” the man said.

“Jim, hire him now.” William said, pulling his credit card from his wallet.

“Dad, you’ve paid for too much as it is. I can put this on my account.” Jim said, trying to pay.

Simon finally interrupted and said, “By the time you two figure out who's going to pay for it, we could've been there already. So do it and let's get on our way.”

Jim stood back and let his dad pay. He didn’t know why he did, but he did. It seemed to make his dad feel like he was doing something. Maybe this is his way of paying for ignoring him all of those years as a kid. He’s trying to make things right between us.

They all went back to the hotel and got their gear. They ended up taking two jeeps, sleeping bags, food, water, clothing and a lot of weapons. They were all ready to go. As Jim got into the first jeep, he looked back at Simon and saluted. Simon saluted him back as they started off in search of Sandburg.

Driving down the road, Jim saw the wolf appearing darker and darker. He knew that they were on the right road. This was the place. Jim had his first real feeling of happiness in days.

Jim and William talked on the way to the first stop. The driver told them they would have to stop at night, because no one entered that area when it was dark. It just wasn’t done. Jim wasn’t happy about it but figured that he needed everything and everyone with him when he got to Brackett so he was going to have to deal.

When they finally stopped that night it was pitch black but the two drivers got a fire started, and in the darkness, all of them set up camp.

Naomi walked up to Jim and said, “Jim, have you seen the wolf tonight?”

“Yes, Naomi. It’s here now. It’s not happy. He’s pacing.” Jim said nervously.

“Jim, I think you and I should go on alone and try and find the temple. You know that you can see in the dark. You’ll just have to guide me.” Simon said.

William stood up and said, “No! I don’t want Jimmy going until light.”

“Dad, I think Simon might be right. The wolf's pacing. Something's wrong. I need to find Blair.”

“Jimmy, I think we should all go together.” William said, clearly worried.

“Dad, we’ll be careful. Simon's my best friend. He won’t let anything happen to me.”

“Fine, if I can’t talk you out of it, make sure and take lots of weapons.” William said.

Jim looked at his father strangely and said, “Dad, don’t worry, okay? Everything'll be fine.”

As they loaded up their supplies, Jim turned to Naomi and said, “I’ll bring your son back, Naomi. Don’t you worry.”

She hugged Jim and said, “You come back in one piece, too.”

As the two men walked off into the night, William and Naomi held on to each other, wondering if they would have to wait long.

Blair had fallen asleep in transit to the temple. He woke to a gorgeous sight of the sun going down behind the temple. It was beautiful. He got out of the car and said, “This is a gorgeous piece of work but I don’t think it’s what you think it is.”

“Fuck you, Sandburg! You don’t know everything.” Brackett grumbled as he got their things out of the trunk.

“Well, I do know that this isn’t an ancient temple. It might have some pools in it but they aren’t what you want.”

“Shut up, Sandburg.” Brackett said, getting angrier by the moment.

Brackett drug Blair into the temple and threw him down to the floor. “Well, Sandburg, I don’t care what it is. The Shaman from the small city said it’ll work. So I believe him over you.”

“Then ask him to be your guide.”

“I would except he’s dead now. I had to kill him. I couldn’t leave him behind to talk to your friends.”

“You killed a Shaman? Jesus, you’re a sick twisted man.” Blair said, starting to pace.

“Calm down. The fun is just beginning.”

“What do you mean?” Blair asked, feeling more afraid then he had since this entire thing had begun.

“Thanks to my man on the outside, we don’t have to worry about anything. He gave you up so easy. He told me where you would be, when and how I could take advantage of you. He was right, every step of the way.” Brackett said, smiling evilly.

“Who are you talking about? Who told you all of this?”

“Can’t you guess? Who do you think has it in for you more than anyone else in the world?”

“I know that Jim didn’t do this.” Blair screamed.

“I didn’t say he did. Did I? No, it wasn’t your dear Jim. It was someone near and dear to all of you.”

“So what’s the big secret? Why don’t you tell me who it is and why?”

“Because I’m going to tell you while I’m fucking you.” Brackett said menacingly.

Blair backed away from Brackett and said, “God, no. There is no way my mom did this. No way.”

“Stop thinking about who did it. “ Brackett said as he pulled Blair into his arms and started taking off his shirt.

Blair started kicking and yelling at Brackett. He might overpower Blair but the younger man wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

In the jungle the wolf began to howl. Jim started running. Catching up with him, Simon said, “What’s going on, Jim?”

“Something’s wrong. The wolf's howling. Something bad's happening to Blair.”

The wolf was running fast, hard and was fully viewed by Simon now, too. “Jim, I can see the wolf.”

“Good, now follow it.” Jim said, not looking back.

Blair frantically tried to think of ways to stop Brackett. “Why are you doing this? You aren’t a Sentinel yet. What good would bonding do now?”

“Good question, Sandburg. I should have known you’d be too smart for this. Someone paid me to take care of you. I don’t need you to be a guide at all.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because I’ve always thought you were quite handsome. I was attracted to you. I couldn’t let you die without getting a taste of that. There was no way.” Brackett said, looking even more crazy than he had a few moments ago.

“So let me get this right. There's no temple? There's no sentinel project you’re trying to get to? And someone we know paid you to kill me?”

“That about covers it. Oh! You left out the part about me fucking you before you die. I want to see if you’ll scream.”

“Fuck you, Brackett. I’m not going to make a sound. I won’t give you the satisfaction.” Blair said, glaring at the man.

“It doesn’t matter, my dear Blair.” He grabbed Blair and started manhandling him until both men heard a growl. Blair turned and saw the panther. He was really there and Brackett could see him, too.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the panther struck, grabbing Brackett by his neck and ripping him to shreds. He struck so quickly that Brackett hadn’t time to even scream in alarm. Blair curled into a ball and just lay there waiting for Jim. He knew he would be following soon.

The Panther laid down next to Blair and put his paw over him waiting for Blair’s mate to appear.

Simon slowed down and grabbed his knees as he bent over to try and catch his breath. “Jim… Jim… Wait up.”

“Simon, something’s going on. I have to hurry. You wait here and I’ll be back.” Jim said, rushing off.

Simon slid down along side a tree trunk and lay his head back to rest for a few moments. He heard the roar and scream of a wild animal and got up and started running in the direction Jim went again.

Once he came to the temple, Jim slowed down and listened to see where Blair was. He heard his life’s heartbeat and knew everything would be fine. Then he realized that Blair was scared. Something was still happening right now. Jim rushed into the temple, stopping long enough to see the dead man lying on the floor. Jim wasn’t even certain it was Brackett. In the corner lay Blair curled in a ball, saying quietly. “He’ll come for me. I know he will.”

Jim touched his shoulder softly and said, “Chief, it's me. I’m here. Everything'll be all right.”

Blair went immediately into his arms and Jim held on for dear life. Because, after all, that’s what Blair was. His life, his love, his reason for living.

“It’s okay, Chief. Brackett’s dead. Everything'll be all right.”

“Jim, someone asked him to kill me. Someone we know. Someone that came with you, I’m sure. Who’s with you?”

“Chief, that’s crazy talk. There's only your mom, my dad and Simon. They’re all here. My dad paid the men to tell us where you were. Does that sound like someone that would want to hurt you? And you know your mom would never hurt you. Do I need to mention Simon? I mean, he’s our best friend, Chief.”

“I know, Jim, but Brackett said someone that we knew and trusted paid to have me taken out of the game. Please don’t tell anyone. We’re going to have to figure this out.”

“Chief, just let me hold you okay?” Jim asked.

“God, I’m so glad you’re here. This has been one long week, Jim. What a fucking nightmare. And it’s not over yet.”

“Things will get better. Let’s go back and find Simon.” Jim said, leading Blair out of the temple.

“What are we supposed to do with Brackett?” Blair asked.

“I don’t really care, Chief. He doesn’t deserve anything from us.” Jim spat out.

The two men walked out of the temple with their arms around each other. Simon ran up and saw Sandburg and said, “Thank god, you’re all right. Did he hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine.” Blair said, moving closer to Jim and looking frightened.

Simon looked at Jim with a question in his eyes and said, “Jim, what’s going on? He acts like he’s afraid of me.”

“Sir, Brackett tried to kill him. My spirit guide killed Brackett in front of him. How do you want him to act?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Sandburg. I’ll keep my distance. I just wanted to help.”

While Simon was talking to Blair, Jim listened to him. Really listened to him. His heart rate was fine. It wasn’t elevated, it didn’t seem that Simon was distressed at all. Now Blair had Jim thinking the worst of his best friend.

They started walking back to the jeep. They stopped midway to rest for a short time and Simon said, “Sandburg, how are you doing? You look a little better.”

“I’m doing fine, sir.” Blair answered, still staying very close to Jim.

“Sandburg, Jim told me all about you and him. I’m okay with that. Is that what’s bothering you?”

“No, Simon. I’ll tell you what’s bothering me. Brackett said that someone Jim knows well paid him to kill me. But that wasn’t good enough. He was getting ready to rape me. He was going to fucking rape me, Jim.” Blair said, starting to tremble.

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” Jim said, hugging Blair to his body.

Simon started pacing. He finally stopped in front of the two men and said, “Let me get this right. You thought it was me that would do that? You think I’m not your friend?”

Calmly, Jim looked up and said, “No, Simon, he’s just scared. So let's drop it for now and please don’t say anything to Naomi or my dad. All right?”

“Why?” Simon asked.

“Because I’m going to find out who it was and kill them.” Jim said, matter-of-factly, as he stood up and pulled Blair along side him.

“Jim, I don’t want you going to prison. Please don’t do something stupid.” Blair whispered.

“Don’t worry, Blair. I’ll be very careful. They won’t know what hit them. And it wasn’t Simon.” Jim whispered back.

Blair looked over at Simon and quietly said, “I’m sorry, Simon. I was just scared. I kid you not, Brackett was a scary son-of-a-bitch.”

“I agree with you, Sandburg, but you have to know I'd never hurt you. You’re the only thing that keeps Jim sane. And if he’s not sane, he’s not working in my department.”

“Yeah, Simon. I knew. I just freaked out. Who do you think would do that to us?”

“Chief, don’t worry about it now. We’ll worry about it later. Now, let's get back to the jeep before they send the troops out for us.

They walked and walked until the sun came up. They were all exhausted. Drinking from the water bottle, Jim shared it with Simon and Blair. “We’re almost there. I can hear everyone close by.” Jim said.

“Good, I’m dead. We’re going to have a two day rest at the hotel before we go home. I’m getting too old for this shit.” Simon said, wanting to smile but knowing that it wasn’t the time or place for being happy yet.

As they walked into the clearing, Jim watched both his father and Naomi and knew right then who it was that had paid for someone to hurt his love. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it.

Simon walked up to Jim and said, “Did you see the look?”

Jim nodded and just hung his head. He didn’t even know what to do. Blair watched them and realized that Jim and Simon knew who had tried to hurt him. Well, he had to know.

Whispering softly, he asked, “Jim, why would your dad try and hurt me? He had no reason, did he?”

“No, baby, he didn’t.” Jim said sadly.

“Oh god, please no. Not Naomi.” Blair said knowing that it was the truth as soon as he said it.

“Blair, we’re so glad you’re back. Thank god you’re all right.” William said, pulling him into a brief hug.

Blair looked at his mom and said, “How could you do that, Mom. Do you know that he wasn’t content with killing me. He was on the verge of raping me first? Is that what you wanted?”

William looked at Blair, then at Jim and then at Simon wondering what he had missed and if he’d ever catch up now.

“Sweetie, what are you talking about? You know I’d never hurt you. You know that.”

Jim stood next to Naomi and said, “Then why are you sweating? Why's your heart-rate too high? Why did you fucking do this to your son?”

William again looked at Jim like he had lost what sense he had. “Jimmy, do you want to fill me in on this?”

“Sure, Dad. What the hell? She can deny it all she wants but it’s her. She’s the one.”

“The one what?” William asked, clearly more confused than before.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jim saw the wolf circling Naomi. Blair saw this, too. No one else did but Blair was on the verge of panicking. “Jim, stop this now.”

“Blair, ignoring it won’t make it go away. Make her tell you why she did this.” Jim pleaded.

Naomi could hear the growl of some animal and figured it was no doubt Jim’s spirit animal. She had nothing to lose. “You want to know why? I’ll tell you why. You ruined my life. Sid dumped me when his boss fired him from the publishing company. We were going to get married. We had big plans. But, as always, your actions always take first place. Everything always revolves around you, Blair. It was always that way. Do you think I could admit that my son was a cop? Not hardly. I gave you a chance to make it up to Sid and make things right but you wouldn’t do it. Do you remember that? Do you, Blair?“

Tears rolling down his face, Blair said,” Yeah, I remember. I told you that Sid could fuck himself.”

“Well, Sid killed himself. My life ended that day, too. I wasn’t going to let you get away with that.”

Blair could hear the panther. He knew that Jim’s spirit guide would do great harm to her if he didn’t stop Jim. Looking at Jim, he said, “Please, Jim?”

Jim wanted to look at him but couldn’t. And he was glad he didn’t. Naomi pulled a gun out, pointed it at all of them and said, ”I knew that I'd end up taking care of things myself. Figures. Never send a man to do what only a woman can do.”

“Mom, please?” Blair begged when he saw the gun aimed at Jim.

“Oh, you’ll never know how it feels, Blair, but maybe you will. I’ll take your love away and see how you like it.”

As she got ready to shoot Jim the wolf jumped on her, savagely, killing her instantly. Jim grabbed Blair and held him tight as Simon kept his gun on the wolf. Just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.

The guides looked at each other and started putting the things into the jeep as quickly as they could. Jim turned to them and said, “We have to take the body back with us.”

“No, Senor, we are not taking that evil woman with us. She will stay here with you and we’ll send someone else back. I’ll take your friends back but we won’t let her go with us.” one guide said.

“How about if you all go in one jeep and I’ll take the other with Mrs. Sandburg?”

“No, senor. She will dirty our jeeps. We can’t have her in our them.”

William said, “Jimmy, I’ll stay here with her while you go and get the authorities.”

“Dad, that’s nice, but I’ll stay. Could you keep an eye on Blair for me?”

“Excuse me, I’m still here. It’s my mom. I’ll stay.” Blair said quietly.

“Jim, William and I will go back and get the authorities. I think you and Sandburg need to talk anyway. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” Simon said.

“Thanks, Simon.” Jim said, walking over to Blair again.

As they drove off, Jim pulled Blair into his arms. Blair looked up at Jim and asked, “How could she do that Jim?”

“Fuck, I don’t know. Chief, she had to be insane.”

“She used to do things sort of like this when I was young. She always sided with the men in her life. She never sided with me unless it suited her. That’s the only time I was her darling son.”

“I’m sorry, Chief.”

“I know, man. So am I.”

Both men just sat there quietly and waited the return of their friend, Jim’s dad and the Mexican police. Neither man looked over at the body that lay on the ground, covered.

Two hours later, there were police all over the place. When they were done questioning everyone, they sent them back into town. Once they got back to the hotel, Jim said, “I hope you don’t mind but we need to be alone.”

“Blair, I’m very sorry about your mother. Something must have snapped; she’s always been a kind woman. If there is anything I can do, please let me know.” William said as he headed to the elevator.

Jim said, “Dad? Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Jimmy. You take care of Blair and we’ll see you in a few days. Just stay in your room and order room service.”

Simon walked up to the two men and said, “I’m going back to Cascade. I’ve got to get back to work. You take as much time as you need. Sandburg, I’m really sorry for your loss.” Simon then hugged Blair and walked away.

“Thanks, Simon.” Blair said very quietly.

Jim and Blair made their way up to their room. Jim knew that Blair was too quiet. But this was just going to take time. Jim wished his spirit guide had been the one that killed her. Blair would have to live with that.

The two men walked into their room, knowing that their lives were forever changed. Jim pulled Blair into his arms and held on for dear life. Out of desperation he said, “Chief, we’re okay, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, baby. We’re fine.” Blair said hugging him back and started to finally cry.

Things would never be the same, but then, isn’t that life?

End Desperation.

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